Cappadocia & Turkey

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Cappadocia Underground City

Cappadocia Guide
Table of Contents
  1. Information About Cappadocia Underground City
  2. Cappadocia Underground Cities
    1. Derinkuyu Underground City
    2. Kaymakli Underground City
    3. Ozluce Underground City
    4. Ozkonak Underground City
    5. Mazi Underground City
    6. Acıgol Tatlarin Underground City
    7. Agirnas Underground City

Cappadocia Underground City; Every year, Cappadocia hosts tens of thousands of local and foreign tourists who want to see the historical fairy chimneys closely, go on a balloon tour and listen closely to the historical story of the region. Recent archaeological excavations have revealed astonishing new developments in both archeology and art history. One of these newest developments was the discovery of underground cities, the secret of which is still unsolved even today.

Archaeological studies on underground cities were carried out by the scientific excavation committee of the German Archaeological Institute, headed by Martin Urban. These studies revealed the traces of life of civilizations that have existed in the Cappadocia region for centuries. Recently, the demand for Cappadocia has started to increase due to the increasing interest in underground cities. In this article, we will give you various information about the underground cities in Cappadocia.

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Information About Cappadocia Underground City

Cappadocia Underground City reflect the first examples of the life pattern in the sense of today’s civilization. It is not known what tools were used in the construction of these underground cities, which were built to protect themselves from attacks and hide from enemies.

In the underground cities where there are supply tanks, water wells, chimneys that provide uninterrupted ventilation, toilets and places of worship that provide shelter for thousands of people for a long time without ever going out, people used a small section of easily melted rock pieces as a window and shaped the rocks into door wings. They built stone doors so that they could easily transition between living rooms.

The first written source about the Underground Cities of Cappadocia is the book “The Return of the Tens of Thousand” written by Ksenephon in Anabasis 400 BC. Ksenephon, who was on the side of the Spartan army in the campaign against the Persian king Artaxerxes, wrote in his return book that the Isparta army got tired and camped in the underground cities of Kaymaklı and Derinkuyu. According to Martin Urban, of German origin, who came to Cappadocia in the 1970s and conducted extensive research, the age of the underground cities of Cappadocia is BC. 7 -8. It dates back to centuries.

Cappadocia Underground Cities

Although 36 underground cities have been discovered in Cappadocia, it is estimated that there are more than 100 undiscovered underground cities throughout the region. We will tell you about the seven most known and visited underground cities of Cappadocia.

Derinkuyu Underground City

Derinkuyu Underground City is located in Derinkuyu district, 30 kilometers from Nevşehir. The first inhabitants of Derinkuyu Underground City, the largest of the 36 known underground cities in Cappadocia, date back to the Assyrian colonies. In addition, it is known that the first Christians who escaped from the persecution of the Roman Empire in the 2nd century AD came to Cappadocia via Antakya and Kayseri and settled here.

Derinkuyu, which is the largest underground city with the largest navigable area in the region, has food warehouses, ventilation shafts, wineries, churches, monasteries, water wells, toilets and living rooms where the people can live for a long time without going out. In these cities, which consist of interconnected rooms, some rooms are connected to each other by tunnels so narrow that only a person can pass.

Derinkuyu Underground City visiting hours:

The underground city is open to visitors 6 days a week except Monday. The entrance fee to Derinkuyu Underground City is 60 TL (4 €). Museum Card is valid.

Kaymakli Underground City

Kaymaklı Underground City is located 20 kilometers from Nevşehir, in the town of Kaymaklı on the Ihlara Valley road. Kaymaklı Underground City, whose history dates back to 3 thousand BC, has a capacity of 5 thousand people and consists of 8 floors. The deepest point of Kaymaklı Underground City, which is open to visitors with only the first four floors illuminated today, is 20 meters below the ground.

In Kaymaklı Underground City, there are rooms and halls connected to each other by narrow corridors, wine warehouses, water cellars, kitchen and food stores, ventilation shafts, water wells, a church and large bolt stones that close the door from the inside in order to prevent dangers from the outside.

Kaymaklı Underground City visiting hours:

Kaymaklı Underground City is open to visitors 6 days a week, except Mondays. The entrance fee to Kaymaklı Underground City is 60 TL (4€). Museum Card is valid.

Ozluce Underground City

Özlüce Underground City is located on the Nevşehir-Derinkuyu highway, 6 km west of Kaymaklı town. Özlüce Underground City, which was called Zeile in the middle ages and later named Zile, is a typical Greek village. At the entrance of Özlüce Underground City, there are two arched spaces made of basalt and interlocking.

The main space, located at the entrance of the underground city, is the largest part. There are supply depots and living rooms here. Cell-type rooms are lined up on the sides of the rather long galleries. Many traps are placed on the floors of the rooms. Özlüce does not have a floor system like other cities and it is spread over a wide area. Özlüce Underground City has not been completely cleaned yet and is currently closed to visitors due to the danger of dents.

Cappadocia Underground City reflect the first examples of the life pattern in the sense of today’s civilization. It is not known what tools were used in the construction of these underground cities, which were built to protect themselves from attacks and hide from enemies.

Ozkonak Underground City

Özkonak Underground City is located in the town of Özkonak, 14 km from Avanos district of Nevşehir. Özkonak Underground City was built on the northern slopes of İdiş Mountain, where volcanic and granite tuff layers are quite thick. It is estimated that Özkonak Underground City, which consists of four floors and contains narrow and long holes that provide communication between floors, unlike other underground cities, was built in 400 BC.

Although the underground city has not been completely cleaned yet, the galleries and tunnels spread over a wide area in the sections where it was cleaned are worth seeing.

Özkonak Underground City visiting hours:

Özkonak Underground City is open to visitors 6 days a week, except Mondays. Entrance fee to Özkonak Underground City is 30 TL (2€). Museum Card is valid.

Mazi Underground City

Mazı Underground City is one of the most important and popular underground cities of Cappadocia. Mazı village, where the underground city is located, is 18 kilometers from Ürgüp. In this city, which is located in the village and has four different entrances, there are areas such as rooms, churches and barns.

The largest part of this underground city, which is one of the early Christian monuments in Mazı Village, whose ancient name is Mataza, is reserved for barns. The church of the underground city is reached through short corridors from the stables. The entrance of this place is designed in such a way that it can be closed with a bolt stone. The apse of the church is carved into the corner and its façade is decorated with reliefs.

Mazı Underground City visiting hours:

Mazı Underground City is open to visitors 6 days a week, except Mondays. Mazi Mazi Underground City entrance fee is 15 TL (1€). Museum Card is valid.

Acıgol Tatlarin Underground City

Acıgöl Tatlarin Underground City is located on the Kale hill of Tatlarin town, 10 kilometers north of Acıgöl district of Nevşehir. Discovered in 1975 and known to have three entrances, this underground city is famous for its frescoes. Acıgöl Tatlarin Underground City, which was opened to visitors in 1991, is one of the underground cities, a very small part of which has been absorbed despite its spread over very large areas. The most important feature of the underground city, which can only be visited twice, is that it has toilets that can not be found in other underground cities.

Acıgöl Tatlarin Underground City visiting hours:

Acıgöl Tatlarin Underground City is open to visitors 6 days a week except Mondays. Admission to Acıgöl Tatlarin Underground City is free.

Agirnas Underground City

Ağırnas Underground City is located in Ağırnas District of Melikgazi district of Kayseri. The history of Ağırnas goes back 3,000 years. It has not been determined exactly when and by whom the underground city located in Asagi Pınar Locality was built. However, it is thought that the underground city was built by the Christians living in the region, who wanted to perform their prayers in secret, in the early periods of Christianity, just like in Cappadocia. A municipal bus departs from Sivas Street in Kayseri every hour to Ağırnas, which is 27 km away from Kayseri.

The visiting hours of Ağırnas Underground City are between 10:00 and 17:00. Ağırnas Underground City is open to visitors 7 days a week. The entrance fee to the Underground City is 10 TL (0.7 €). The Museum Card is not valid.

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